


Pajustji

by msu82



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-07 21:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10370043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msu82/pseuds/msu82
Summary: Pajustji (PAH-joost-gee) — Origin; The Planet Danan of the Wardlow System — 1. to be worth nothing, yet worth more than everything all at once; 2. nothing has changed, yet everything is different; 3. [Temporarily redacted]When Elora "Edie" Kenobi, second-padawan to General Obi-Wan Kenobi (that name sharing was one interesting story) woke up this morning, she hadn't thought that poking something glowing just ONCE would change so much in her daily life. Like, for example, said artifact sending her decades into the past to a point where her Jedi Master was still practically a toddler.





	1. They should really make “Don’t Touch Glow-y Artifacts” a mandatory lesson

**Author's Note:**

  * For [markwatnae (bertie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertie/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Lucida](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9338831) by [markwatnae (bertie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertie/pseuds/markwatnae). 



There was three things she knew. Her consciousness may blurry, her body aching and chilled, and she confused about all that had happened, but that didn’t change the fact that there were three things she was aware of.  
  
The first fact she had, or rather recalled, was that she had touched something during the Junior Padawans lessons in the Halls of History at the Jedi Temple. Something that had been _glowing_.   
  
Absentmindedly, she shoved blame off on spending too much time around Ahsoka and Anakin. Not even a full minute after that thought she pushed it aside, because even at just barely 12-years of age she understood it was pointless to blame others for one’s own decisions. …Even if mentioned others constantly lived in the ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ mindset and dragged you and your guardian along with the antics whenever possible.  
  
The second things she knows is that there had been a bright light that completely enclosed around her, she had felt her bond with her Master and teacher, Obi-Wan, scream in her brain and out of her mouth in utter agony before blacking into instant unconsciousness mere seconds after the bright light had completely blocked her vision.  
  
She knew something bad _must_ have happened to feel such a snapping! Snapping only happened if one of enough skill broke their half of the Padawan-and-Master training bond, the Council themselves broke it for mental and emotional health, or….  
  
Or from death. The death of one or both holds of the bond.  
  
She would be panicking if this had happened at any other time, in any other way, but as she shifted about her own brain that agonizing pain she had felt wasn’t present on her returning consciousness. There was a headache, sure, but no pain from the bond itself. In fact, the bond felt completely intact even if… almost drastically different? Now that _was_ odd, but it was still a connection to Obi-Wan so perhaps it was something the relic had done?  
  
The third, final, and ultimately the most simple of all of currently realized knowledge of all on the list; a little finger was poking against her cheek. There was also the weight and pressure naturally caused by the owner’s little knees and legs kneeling carefully on her stomach.  
  
“Miss Pad-wan…? Are you okay? If you are tireds, you should’n lay on the floor. Tha’s not very comfor-able. ”  
  
Aww, so the little finger had an adorable little voice to go with it? Just listen to all of those sweet little skipped mid-word sounds and lost Ts and–  
  
 _Elora Edie, now is not the time! You see cute younglings ever day in the Creche when Master is off-planet for deployment. Fawn over the little one later!_ She snapped at her own wandering brain, forcing the last of her daze away as she slowly blinked her brown eyes open.  
  
Her vision was very blurred at first, then steadying, soon being met clearly with big-green eyes that seemed oddly familiar just mere inches from her own.  
  
“Oh! You’re awake? Thas’ good!” The owner of the eyes pulled back, revealing an adorable face of a little boy with a beaming smile and dimpled cheeks. A little face that was unfamiliar, which confused her, but nonetheless she gave a small smile.  
  
“Well…. Hello there, little one. What are you doing here?” The girl slowly— aches throughout her body protesting regardless of carefulness— moved through sitting up and ultimately caused the tiny bundle of Jedi Youngling to settle upon her lap rather than her stomach.  
  
“I found you!” The little boy exclaimed happily, and Edie blinked before glancing around in even more confusion than she had already been faced with.  
  
Why was she in one of the numerous Temple Hallways? If she was injured, she should have been in the Healing Wing. If she hadn’t been out long enough to need to go there, then _why_ wasn’t she where she had been minutes (if it had been only that long) before? Had that glowing device somehow made her disappear from the History Halls and reappear in a different part of the place she’d called home for as long as she could remember?  
  
“Oh, you found me? That’s very nice of you,” She slowly turned her gaze back to the little boy in her lap, continuing in a playfully conspiring whisper, “My brother-padawan makes jokes of me getting lost all the time because of how short I am, but he’s a Knight so it’s expected of him to be silly. …Let’s keep this a secret though, hm?” Her reward was precious giggles from the child she had slowly wrapped an arm around, just sitting there on the floor int he middle of the hallway as if it what had happened was an average, everyday experience.  
  
It definitely wasn’t, but she was still in the Jedi Temple so obviously nothing too drastic had happened despite how confused she was. Right? Right.  
  
The little boy in her lap soon quieted from his amusement, and Edie found herself glancing back down at him with a gentle smile. The young Force signature sang the sweetest of songs to her of it’s innocence, Lightness, and just pure goodness. _You’re gonna be a little padawan yourself, aren’t you? I can’t imagine a Master not plucking you up sometime soon._ She thought contently, moving to stand and setting the child on her hip like she had seen Master Koon do with many children of various ages…. Even more so in a seemingly friendly spite in response to some half-heartened grumblings common from Master Windu.  
  
She may be short at just 4′10″, but she was fully capable of carrying a toddler, oh Teasing-Voice-of-Anakin-Skywalker that she could almost hear in her mind’s ear.  
  
Without knowing where she was going, yet knowing they’d be bound to walk into an older Jedi soon—it was the Temple after all, even if not as thickly occupied as when she had been younger there were still thousands of Jedis in and out daily during this wartime—who could point her towards the Main Halls. She genuinely didn’t recognize the hallway section she was in just yet. So, random walking it was until then.  
  
“Miss Pad-wan, why’a was you laying on tha’ floor?” The youngling, all green eyes and dimpled cheeks and wispy almost-curls of red hair, asked of her as his small hands curled into her robes.  
  
“I don’t know _why_ I was laying _the_ floor,” Edie began, turning a corner and subtly and gently correcting the little ones speech like she’d seen many Knights and Masters do with youngest of little Force-users, “But I do know I did something very silly and bad that ended me up there.”  
  
The little one gasped, sounding adorably scandalized, and Edie fought off a giggle from his combined facial expression of ‘shock’ as he exclaimed, “Some’hing bad! Wha’ did you do?”  
  
“I touched something really old in the History Halls, because it was glowing. That’s a bad thing to do, so don’t do it ever. Okay?”  
  
A beat of silence.  
  
“….But glowy things are fun ta’ touch if you can, though. They’re pret-ey.”  
  
Edie released her giggles this time, soon having turned another corner but still yet to find any other Jedi (worryingly enough). It was due to this, and the growing aching in her still sore arms, that she set the boy down onto his feet and knelt down to his level.  
  
“How about we play a little game together?” She smiled at his gasp of excitement before continuing, “I ask you a question, and then you ask me one. We go back and forth until I decide the game is over. Okay?”  
  
“Okay!”  
  
The brunette girl smiled. “Great! Now, can you tell me what part of the Temple we’re in?”  
  
“In the hallways ou’side of tha’ Star Map Room!”  
  
Edie was understandably confused. She knew for a fact that the hallways and the room they surrounded were closed off, until repaired, due to damage caused a Separatist ship that had managed to crash into the Temple. These hallways also looked nothing like the ones she knew! (Her and Master Obi-Wan frequented them. It had been something he’d done with her grandmaster, Qui-Gon Jinn, and he often told her stories of the man when they were there.)  
  
The padawan female did not correct him though, simply smiled through her confusion and returned from her thoughts as she was asked by the younger, “How old are yous?”  
  
“I’m twelve. I’ll be thirteen in about nine months.”  
  
The boy pouted, “You don’ look tall enough ta’ be twelve _or_ third-een.”  
  
Edie laughed and the sassy little one was soon joining in with his own giggles.  
  
“Yet you’re smaller than me, you little sass-ball, so maybe it’s you who just isn’t tall enough to know what height older Jedis should be? Hm?” She poked his nose, causing the both of them to giggle for a few long moments more before returning to the little game she started.  
  
“Can you take me to the Main Halls once we’re done with our game?” She asked, knowing she was lost (somehow) in her own home, and still holding doubt at the boy’s earlier answer of where they were in the Temple.  
  
“Uh-huh! I can do tha’ for sures, Miss Pad-wan!” The child beamed, joyed as many young ones were at the thought of getting to lead the way to places for those older than themselves. “You told me yours age, so do’ya wanna know mine?”  
  
She grinned, deciding to flow with the question even if it didn’t follow the rules because… well… the game was made up anyway. “I’d love to know your age, little one! How old are you?”  
  
“I’m four! My lifeday was a’coop-all weeks ago.” The boy held out four fingers proudly before continuing, “Can I know your name?”  
  
 _Oh, he’s a smart one. Getting me to ask a question so he could ask another one right away._ She bit back a smile, gently replying, “Yes, you may know my name. I’m Elora Edie, but I prefer being called just Edie.” She left off her chosen last name of ‘Kenobi’ that she had picked almost a year ago now, because of how much she loved her Master, as per here home-planet’s cultural tradition. She saw no need to be so officially introduce just yet. Besides, a Jedi youngling or not, it might take quite a bit of time to explain how she had the same name of a well-adored Jedi General yet not be officially related to him beyond padawanship.  
  
The girl took her next turn of asking a question, sticking out a hand in offering of a handshake to a youngling she had no idea of how she didn’t recognize—she could have _sworn_ she had met them all. So thus, she questioned, “Can I know your name now, little one?”  
  
“Yes!” The child exclaimed excitedly, giggling as he stuck his pudgy hand into her large one and the Force sang around them. “I’m Obi-Wan Kenobi!”  
  
Her smile instantly melted away as her brain stuttered.  
  
… _Obi-Wan Kenobi?_  
  
Her brain now fully stalled.  
  
The smiling ball of Force sunshine, a four-year old claiming the name of her 37-year-old Jedi Master as his own name, soon had a frown of innocent concern on his face.  
  
As Edie settled into some confused shock, the duo found themselves back to where they had started in a way. They were back at the tiny-finger-poking-cheek stage, but this time it was attached to knowledge of the most complicate degree.  
  
They should really make ‘Don’t touch glowly Jedi relics’ a lesson in Initiate classes because, as far as she could slowly comprehend, she seemed to somehow be… back in time? It seemed improbably, but everything seemed to be pointing in that direction. It was the only real explanation for a little boy (ginger hair, dimples, familiar green eyes) to be saying such a name was his own without the Force ringing in warning of the lie.  
  
The Force had done nothing but sang alongside the little boy’s truthful tones.  
  
Edie blinked, slowly refocusing on the moment and _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ looking at her with concern. Inhaling a steady breath, she opened her mouth to say something completely mature and fitting of the situation….  
  
“Fuck.”  
  
A scandalized gasp left a little mouth, which was now familiar to her ears even if higher in pitch than what she was used to hearing. Even the scolding words that inevitably came next were familiar in their own way.  
  
“Tha’s a bad word, Pad-wan Edie! You shouldn’ use it. My Creche Master, Ali-Alann, says tha’ it is un… unziv…. He says it is unciv-a-lies!”  
  
Double-fuck.  
  
It was a now undoubtedly an _extremely_ good thing she had decided not to give her last name.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you confused? That's not good! If you have yet to read markwatnae's (ongoing~!) story about Padawan Edie, or seen her "teeny padawan au" tag on her Tumblr, then you should. Then come back and read this again! It's a fantastic AU and I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do.
> 
> If you AREN'T confused, then I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Leave kudos and comments if you don't mind. I'm always open to feedback/love/etc.


	2. If the Stoic Bastard saves a baby from you, ya need to reevaluate yourself

Edie's eyes were beginning to well up. Upon noticing this fact, Obi-Wan seemed shocked before his own eyes began to well in response for, seemingly, feeling bad because he saw his own scolding of her as the only thing that could have created the tears.  
  
Of course, seeing such a tiny and young version of her Master _clearly_ tearing up made her eyes water even more and... it was escalating.  
  
It just quickly became a speedy, endless cycle that needed less than a minute to become a full mess of tears and clinging hugs. Both were overwhelmed for different reasons, and both feeling bad for seemingly making the other upset. It was a hopeless situation that seemed to hold no end to it in sight, truly. That is, that would have been the case before three quiet, yet still echoing _clacks!_ of something that sounded vaguely wooden startled both of them.  
  
“Very old, I am.” The familiar voice connected to a familiar figure began to hobble towards them down the hall, “Yet seen two younglings crying for no reason, until now, I have not.” With that surprising amount of speed (when desired) that is still commonly seen even decades later, Grandmaster Yoda of the Jedi Temple was standing before the duo wearing that expression that trademarked expression that always portrayed everything-yet-nothing as he observed.  
  
Edie was left blinking yet a sense of relief soon washed over her. _Yoda._ If anyone could help her, it wouldn't definitely be her Great-Great Grandmaster... even if there was a high chance that she didn't even exist yet, considering the tearful little ball of ginger in her arms.  
  
“Master Yoda!” Obi-Wan gasped tearfully, rubbing at his eyes as the green being smaller than the two children finally made it right in front of them. “I... I-I was bad! I made p.... I made Pad-wan Edie c-cry cause I yelled! And... a-an' then I started cryin' and-!” The youngling shushed with a hiccup of surprise as the end of the ever-familiar gimmer stick of the Jedi Order's Grandmaster would lightly poke upon the tip of his little nose. Edie herself recognized the act, for she had been at the literal end of it many times, but it seemed the one she held was still new to experiencing such a thing.  
  
“Upset is needed not, Obi-Wan. Sure I am, reason for this padawan's tears, you did not truly create. Yes?” The first of Yoda's words had been spoken to the boy, but the last had been more meant to the brunette girl.  
  
“Ye-...Yes! I mean,” Edie reached up a hand to rub at her cheeks, giving a gentle smile to the little boy she held even if it was slightly strained. “You didn't make me cry, Obi-Wan. I was just shocked by something. Okay? You were not 'bad' at all.” The explanation was vague and told nothing, and though intriguing for Yoda it was perfectly placating for one so young.  
  
Thus, it was with sniffles on the boy's part, and with gentle wiping of tears from said boy's chubby cheeks on the girl's own part, soon both children stood towering at varying levels over the grandmaster of the Jedi Order.  
  
The group of three just stood there. The children, of course, each beginning to squirm in a way that was oddly similar under the searching eyes of the green elder. In response to this, he had merely hummed thoughtfully.  
  
“...Obi-Wan, back to Master Ali-Alaan you will go. Your new friend, I will take care of.” Yoda finally declared.  
  
Now, just as oddly similar scrunches of noses and slight furrowing of brows had come upon their faces! Neither voiced any disagreement out-loud. Yoda let out a soft, air chuckle before turning and beginning to hobble the way off.  
  
They soon reached an intersection in the halls. The Grandmaster sent the little boy one way that would likely lead him to his Creche Clan, and then he turned to smile at the girl still with him before leading off to one of the nearby elevators.

 

_**~ [ P a j u s t j i ] ~** _

 

He was a teenager, and thus he knew the ways of the galaxy.  
  
And one thing he knew was an infinite, concrete, immobile truth of space and time was the fact that his Master liked to talk.  
  
And talk.  
  
And then, when you think he's done talking, he talks even more.  
  
 _By the Force, why does he talk so much?_ He had never figured that out, though he's been asking that question to himself over-and-over through the past few years. _We were supposed to start training almost an hour ago, but he keeps stopping to talk to people! We're going to run out of reservation time in the dojo,_ the boy shifted from foot to foot, resisting the urge to sigh. _Kriff, I'm starving. I almost wouldn't mind missing the training._ Ah, the wonders of the hunger caused by puberty. He had yet to hit his growth spurt, but he bet it would be rather soon. He was almost as tall as his chatty, care-free Master. Sometimes, he genuinely wondered if they were finally at eye level with one another that, possibly, he'd stop taking up so much valuable time and keep the promises he made.  
  
Promises such as they'd start their dojo training at 10 galactic-standard time, and that they'd actually eat lunch on time after their usual two-hour training sessions.  
  
Yet here the man was! Talking to some annoying little youngling who wanted to ask about one of the man's past exploits because he was writing a report about it for some meager little history class. It was annoying, really, how many youngling idolized his teacher. He used to enjoy how popular the man was, but over the years he just found it grating on his nerves.  
  
“Master,” He began, the one who had recently reached his 15th birthday straightening his seated posture as attention was turned back to him, “May I head to the dojo to begin my katas while you finish helping Youngling... Billaba?” There had been a slight hesitation on the name, but the way the young girl seemed to light-up told him that he'd managed to remember correctly. “That way we won't be too far behind course for the day.”  
  
The tall, tree-like man (which was a fitting analogy, considering said man was connected to the Living Force) smiled at him with a sparkle in his eyes. “Of course, my padawan. Are you sure, however, that you aren't simply wishing to make sure that we manage to get to lunch on time? Especially since I promise to take you to a certain buffet-establishment as a late birthday gift?”  
  
The teen would deny that his cheeks felt a bit heated now, eyes squinting from the teasing before in rarely used movement out of decorum, he simply shrugging his shoulders while simultaneously resisting the urge to roll his eyes when the young-one giggled.  
  
His teacher chuckled, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder. “Of course you can, padawan. I'll be along momentarily. I promise.”  
  
The boy rose from the chair he had begun to feel glued to, nodding his head in acknowledgment, “Alright, Master. I shall see you in an hour then.” He replied, the slightest of smirked twitching his usually stoic face as he dodged a scolding cuff-to-an-ear, bolting his way from the sitting room and giving the slightest wave over his shoulder at the call of 'Cheeky brat!' that followed him.

 

He began on what should have been a direct path to Training Room A, nodding his head in a brief sign of respect to any Knight or Master he passed, and in the least glanced at the child or two he passed in a show of noticing their existence.  
  
It was while nearing his destination that he felt a tickling of... something. He was one with the Unifying Force, though not prone to visions, but he did feel nudges and influences from the world around him on occasion. He mainly felt them in the reckless situations his Master tended to get them in, and listened without hesitation in those instances. In this, however, he paused momentarily, closed his eyes, and focused on listening to what they may be saying.  
  
The teen heard no words due to the rarity of the Force ever speaking directly of it's desires, but he definitely felt the figurative string pulling him to a different part of the Jedi Temple.  
  
Eyes opening, the boy followed a will that was not necessarily his own.

 

The Temple was a place of the Light, rarely filled with anything unhappy and warm beyond the anxieties of 'Will I pass my trials?' or 'My thirteenth birthday is soon, what if I'm not picked?' or 'My padawan is going through such a rebellious phase, what if it's a sign of something more?' sorts of things, but otherwise nothing too worrying.  
  
So it was understandable that, once he was hit with a wave of anxiety and fear after rounding a corner, that he came to a an abrupt halt in his movements out of pure surprise alone.  
  
 _What in the stars is this?_ The boy wondered, glancing up at the sign along the wall and see he was heading in the direction of one of the aquatic-life observance rooms. They had many rooms in the Temple, for lessons teaching or for the ways that people difference in how they connected to the Force for meditation. He understandably had no idea why he was feeling such strong and dark emotions. Someone trapped in a horrible vision? An Initiate in a panic-attack who had run off for some solitude to work through it?

 

The teenager stood there, trying to dissect why the Force would bring him here to just seemingly help somehow through a bad time. In fact, he was moments away from figuratively scoffing at the life around him and returning the way he came.  
  
Of course it was at that moment where many things happened simultaneously. Large amounts of fear and anxiety melted into the purest, most unadulterated version of tailor he had ever felt in his 15 years of life so fair. If that alone didn't convince him, then the high-pitched scream that cut off rather abruptly definitely did.  
  
And if even _that_ didn't convince him to not turn away, than the pull of the Force filling him with an urgency did whatever work the other two might not have fulfilled.  
  
He bolted down the hallway, passing the rooms blindly until getting to the largest one that set up one of the various (yet few) dead-end hallways of the Temple. He opened the door as silently as possible, hand on the hilt of his lightsaber as he quickly found his way down the paths of aquarium tanks. He was taking precaution due to he being unsure of what he may find himself needing confront, but the urgent whispering of the Force in his ears had him moving quickly just the same.  
  
He came to a stop, stilling as he heard laughter mixed with the sounds of splashing... and then the sound of gasping coughs—in a higher pitch than the laughter—before it was choked off and the laughter picked back up even louder.

 

He jumped around the corner, startling at the sight two boys whom were knelt next to the pool and... seemingly holding the head of a struggling, smaller child beneath the surface.  
  
He stared momentarily, shocked, but then rage swirled inside of him. “What in Sith-Hells are you doing?!” He startled the two Initiates who turned to stare at him, they're grips still keeping the child pinned beneath the water. The teenager's glare was firm as he took a step forward, and the boys responded instantly. They lifted the tiny child from the water only to lift and toss him deep into the pool, the tiny landing with a hard splash and a head of red-hair popping up with gasping cries of fear before falling back beneath the surface.  
  
The teenager made no move to stop the two little monsters as they ran pass him to escape wrath and punishment as he rushed forward, hesitating not a moment before diving into the pool.  
  
The Force stilled as a few bubbles popped on the surface of the water; the universe watched. The universe waited.  
  
Agonizingly long second later a large splash came as he clear the surface, and the Force moved once more as the teen with long, black clutched the ginger-haired little boy to his chest. The child was coughing, spewing out water through his lips and staring around wildly in his fear.  
  
Soon the child looked up at the one who had saved them as they floated in the water, silvery-blue eyes meeting greenish-blue in a mixture of wide-eyed shock over what had just occurred. The breathing of a little chest hitched, eyes of the young holder growing a kind of wet that wasn't created by the observance pond , and he began wailing.  
  
This of course made the teenager feel awkward, but old instincts from years ago when he'd had a little sister to care for managed to kick in just slightly. He wrapped his arm more firmly around the boy, using his other to take them back to the edge of the pond while muttering the soft words of comfort he was capable to manage while so far out of practice, “It's alright.... It's all over. Those brats are gone, and you're safe. Look, see? We're almost to the edge, kid. You're fine.” He got to the edge, putting the child on the grass surrounding the pond-area before pulling himself out. His words seemingly hadn't helped at all yet, for the kid was still sobbing, but at least he seemed to have calmed slightly now that he was no longer in the water.  
  
He stiffened momentarily as the tiny form scrambled into his lap, but wet wrapped around wet and he found himself hugging an arm around the kid once more. Another hesitation, but slowly he moved his free hand to cup at the back of a red-haired head of soaked hair.  
  
“Hey now, none of that. You just got out of the water where you couldn't breathe, there's no use crying and messing up your air even more, you know.” The teenager muttered, and it seemed the child had thankfully calmed enough that such words assisted in startling away the tears rather than encouraging them further. “There we go, see? Now, what's your name? I should probably alert your Creche Master after I get you to the Healing Halls.” The boy asked, loosening his hold so the child could pull back.  
  
“I'm... I'm O-” The child started coughing, and he was quickly shifted so he could empty the water still in his lungs onto the grass rather than onto his savior. Said savior may already be wet, but there was a different between tank-water and the same water being thrown up on oneself.  
  
It took a long minute or two before the kid had calmed, face flushed from exertion. “Feel better?” The child nodded in response. “Good. Now, what is your name?”  
  
“I'm-”  
  
“Obi-Wan!” The sound of another voice, feminine, succeeded in startling them both. (The teenager would scold himself later for being so off guard, though it was understandable that seeing someone that was all but a toddler almost get murdered by other children would cause a notable distraction from observing one's surroundings.)  
  
The sight that met both boys of two ages was that of a girl who seemed to be a padawan. She was completely unfamiliar to the teen, and only barely familiar to the child.  
  
The boy, named Obi-Wan apparently, let out a wail with a fresh-wave of tears. He bolted from the teenagers arms over to the girl who instantly knelt to accommodate the child. “Oh, look at you. You're soaking wet and chilled to the bone. What in the stars happened to you?” The girl was murmuring this soft worries between words of comfort that had been much gentler than his own, and in the back of his mind he was faintly impressed by the fact the girl managed to scoop the child up in an almost cradling hold. With how short the girl looked, he didn't think it be possible.  
  
The 15-year old rose to his feet, gaining the attention of the younger padawan (now that he took time to observe her, he assumed she was anywhere from 10 to 12). The girl only seemed to have just noticed his presence, having only had sights for the little boy, and he was feeling another faint tick of being impressed as she bowed with the boy now on her hip.  
  
“Thank you for whatever you did to save him from, well, whatever was happening in here. I felt his stress and I got here as soon as I could, but-”  
  
The teenager held up a hand to cut off the babbling, offering a small smile he usually saved for when he and his Master were on political missions. He didn't know this girl, had never seen her, yet she wore padawan attire.... even though, he remained neutral for now.  
  
“No thanks needed,” He replied, doing his best to embody the mature stance and tone he'd seen many Knights and Masters take when talking. Granted, it was a slightly tough feat to make when one appeared like a drowned rat, but still he pushed on with his words, “The young one didn't deserve what was happening, no one did.” His voice was firm with this, and the girl smiled at him. _Odd, she seems so very open._ He'd ponder that later, for now he wanted to get as much information as possible on this strange girl who, barely a padawan, seemed to have claimed she had some sort of bond with the Crecheling.  
  
“Obi-Wan is his name, yes? That's what you called him? It's nice to know the name of my young rescuee, but may I know yours Padawan....?” He trailed off, leaving it open.  
  
“I'm Padawan Edie and, yes, his name is Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Kenobi.” The girl smiled again, and the teenager found himself further intrigued by such an emotional peer. It almost reminded him of the man who had been raising and teaching him over the past six years. “And again, I can't help but thank you for saving him from whatever happened. So, thank you Padawan....” She paused, looking at him with the same expectant look he had given her moments before. He could respect this mirroring of tactic. The elders influenced the juniors, after all.  
  
His smirk turned just the slightest bit more genuine than politely neutral, the teenager gave a half-bow to the one he towered over. “I am Padawan Xanatos Du Crion. It is a pleasure to meet you, Padawan Edie and Youngling Obi-Wan, though circumstances could be better.” He once more felt his curiosity peak, eyes tweaking the slightest bit into a squint at the wave of surprise he felt from the girl.  
  
Really now, what was so shocking about hearing his name?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! Another chapter updated! In case it was hard to tell, these chapters have already been written. This chapter, the first, and the third are all up on my tumblr (http://msu82.tumblr.com). The third chapter will be posted up tomorrow, and then the new 4th Chapter will be up sometime between Friday and Sunday this week.
> 
> Kudos, comments, love, bookmarks, and critques all welcomed!


	3. An unexpected series of tea, truth, tears, and nonchalance

She wanted her Master.  
  
She had only seen Obi-Wan Kenobi roughly twenty minutes prior, but she wanted her _Master._ Edie wanted her family for, even though the four year old was cute, the blatant lack of existence in regards to her family was starting to grind down on her faint hold upon her emotions. The more she realized she was truly in the past (she had already pinched herself many times) the more the feelings of dread and anxiety began to well up within her.  
  
She wanted to eat candy, make tea with Master Obi-Wan, and read old books—digital and paper—with him.  
  
She wanted to spar with Anakin, accidentally hurt him, and get to fret over him even as he was complimenting her abilities for taking him down.  
  
She wanted to play pranks with Ahsoka and help her fuse over the troopers if either of the battalions were planet-side on Coruscant.  
  
She did not want a toddler version of her guardian and teacher that _she_ had been the one to comfort.

 

She did not want her padawan-brother to not be alive for roughly another decade.  
  
She did not want her best friends—from Ahsoka to the troopers—to not come into existence for even longer than that.  
  
 _I want my family._ The brunette thought to herself, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to keep herself out of the throws of the panic attack the Force was tickling her ears in warning to calm herself. _I want Obi-Wan, I want Anakin, I want Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, and all the others. I want my family._ Her hands clenched in the fabric of her pants, her eyes burned as her breathing did its best to start hitching. _I want my family, I want my family, IwantmyfamilyIwantmyfamilyIwantmyfam–_

 

“Drink.”

 

Edie startled, blinking back tears quickly to come cross-eyed with... a cup of tea cradled by a pair of green three-fingered hands.  
  
A moment passed, long yet tension-free, and slowly she cupped the blue porcelain in her hands before taking a slow sip. She was about to lower it from her mouth, but the sight of the green being raising his hand in a 'Stop' motion made her freeze. “Drink all of it at once, nice and slow, you shall. Savor it, you will, but have it last a while? It will not.”  
  


Edie hesitated, anxiety and panic still doing it's best to boil out of her young body, but then her logical side kicked in. Her Master's voice, gentle in her ear as if he was there with her in the scary, long-ago past that was now tangible far before her birth into the galaxy. Reminding her that she was still in the Temple even if it was not her own, that she was safe, and that Yoda would never harm her.  
  
The brunette tipped the cup on her lips once more. She closed her eyes as she slowly swallowed down the rest of the warm drink.  
  
It was.... minty.  
  
Mint was the first thing that stuck out to her. As she sipped more, slowly draining it all away as it flooded her tongue, there were traces of chocolate that grew more clear the longer she drank.  
  
And the there was the absolute _warmth_ of it all combined _._ The warmth of the tea was swirling like petals in the wind come blooming season, filling her up and running away the chill of stress that had settled upon her.  
  
It startled her a little when her lips met wetness no further, she blinking as she lowed the cup and saucer from her mouth before looking at a grinning, ancient, beloved troll capable of using the Force.  
  
“What was in that, Master Yoda? Some sort of soother?”  
  
“Bah, chocolate and mint only. Believe in simple comforts I do, young one. Perk it is, if delicious.” Yoda let out a chuckling, and Edie found herself smiling as all of her current flooding of negative emotions were lost to the Force.  
  
Unfortunately, it was seconds later that her face fell flat and paled. She dropped the dishes to the carpeted ground.  
  
A bond thrummed with pure terror in her mind, and she was not used to being flooded with such intense emotions that were not her own. Not the negative kind, anyway.

 

“What is the matter, young one?” Yoda asked, humor gone and clear concern in his voice but it had no effect on her at first. Edie had simply stood there a moment more....

 

Less than a heartbeat, actually.  
  
She scrambled to pick up the spilled tea-cup and saucer. Thankfully it had been empty. “I-I'm so sorry, Master Yoda, but I have to leave right now! I won't leave the Temple and I'll be back later. I promise!”  
  
There was no time to wait for a response. Edie ran as if her life depended on it.  
  
Or rather, she was running for a life that she didn't personally possess. But, considering who she was connected to, it was technically _her life_ she was running for.

 

_**~ [ P a j u s t j i ] ~** _

 

Her anxiety was mounting as she raced through the Temple, past other Jedi, and into the depth of a room that smelled of a mixture of fresh-water and chemicals that kept the waters as such.  
  
She was blinded and saw nothing until wet curls and big green-blue eyes were in her sight.  
  
“Obi-Wan!”  
  
There was a flurry of movements, a wail, before she was kneeling and hugging a sobbing child in her arms.

 

She hugged the shaking little body in her arms, whispering soft comforts and taking off her padawan robe, wrapping it around the young boy to bundle him up for some kind of warmth. He truly was chilled to the bone.  
  
She had no idea what had been happening, but she felt Obi-Wan's stress and lingering fear in the Force; what was still inside of him, for there was strong amounts of some kind of evilness having almost occurred that tainted the room filled with bright, aquatic life.  
  
“It's alright, Obi-Wan. You're safe.” The girl whispered, pressing a kiss idly to the side of the little ginger's head before standing up with him on her hip.  
  
It was then that she looked up, blinking at the tall figure standing up by the large pool.  
  
 _Oh._

 

She hadn't noticed that there was someone in the room, but considering she felt no fear from the one she was holding on her hip when the young attention was turned the same way she was looking? It was near instantly clear that Edie was staring at a savior and not the potential doer of evil. He was tall and clearly a few years older than herself, wearing a padawan braid with the rest of long-and-dark hair pulled into a tie behind his head, blue eyes, pale skin, and soaked to the bone just like the child she held.

  
The other padawan's features taken in she bowed, ducking her head before raising straight once more. “Thank you for whatever you did to save him from, well, whatever was happening in here.” Edie hugged Obi-Wan a little closer, resting her chin against the side of his head, “I felt his stress and I got here as soon as I could, but-”  
  


“No thanks needed.” The boy spoke, and he wore a smile that almost made her think of her Master—the adult version—when he was speaking with those he needed to be diplomatic with. Or when he spoke of those he didn't like, like with how he spoke with Anakin on the topic of Chancellor Palpatine, whom she was supposed to meet in about week... and around thirty years from the current time.  
  
She was pulled from her wandering thoughts by the boy speaking once more, “The young one didn't deserve what was happening. No one did.” The firmness of declaration did nothing to comfort her lingering anxiety from not knowing what had happened just yet, but the goodness of it brought a smile to her face.  
  
“Obi-Wan is his name, yes? That's what you called him?” The boy continued, “It's nice to know the name of my young rescuee, but may I know yours Padawan....?” His voice trailed off, but his face spoke of the 'kind' expectation of wanting to know who she was.

 

_Well, far be it for me to be rude. Especially to a fellow padawan, for being in a different time isn't an excuse for a lack of manners._ The girl thought, though a tickling in the back of her brain almost felt like Anakin and Ahsoka were right there, on her shoulders, whispering sass and snark into her mind. The voice of her Master was there as well; scolding and giving the voice of reason over the two troublemakers.  
  
“I'm Padawan Edie and, yes, his name is Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Smile still in place she kept her face a perfect picture of pristine innocence. At least, she assumed she did. In all honesty her lineage line always claimed she looked constantly innocent, but she was being raised by a negotiator and knew how to use appearance to an advantage.  
  
“And again–” the short brunette hiked the ginger-haired Crecheling a little higher on her hip– “I can't help but thank you for saving him from whatever happened. So, thank you Padawan....?” Her eyes upon him as her words trailed off, browns almost meeting blue, she saw as the boy's expression became more genuine and felt a twitch in the Force and a slight tingling in her eyes. She was not one with the Unifying, though her Master and padawan-brother were, but the Living Force seemed to be ruffling it's feathers in a near content way at such a subtle change in the teenager.  
  
Speaking of, her attention returned he gave a half-bow respectfully fitting for when addressing one who was younger and not of the same standing, for the titles of 'junior' and 'senior' for apprenticeships was more than just an age-divider. “I am Padawan Xanatos Du Crion,” The teenager smiled, “It is a pleasure to meet.....”  
  
Edie knew he was speaking more, and that it was rude of her to be staring at him as wide-eyed as she could feel herself doing.  
  
Xanatos.  
  
Her teacher and guardian's lineage-brother whom he had never gotten to meet until after the elder's abandonment of the Order to become a Dark Jedi.  
  
It had occurred as a flickering thought in her mind that there would be many alive, around, or still members of the order if they had left.  
  
In pertaining to her own line of heritage, she had not thought that far ahead even if she had spent the majority of the morning (after noon? She was unsure of the time of day) with Master Yoda. However, it was not the realization of who this teenager was that caused her such stillness and surprise, for her mind had raced a thousand parsecs in a moment's notice to focus on one tiny, loan fact that if Xanatos was here, and still very clearly a jedi, then that would mean....  
  
 _My... grandmaster is ali–?_

 

“Are you alright?” Edie startled, looking to the boy who was no frowning at her with a touch of concern but she swore she saw a flicker of curiosity. “You looked slightly dazed.... you aren't prone to visions, are you? Of the Unifying? I am of it myself, though was not granted such a gift by the Force.”  
  
She just stared at him, it taking a moment for her wits to return, but then quickly she gave a smile. “Oh! Oh, um, no. I'm one of the Living Force, not the Unifying.” She offered up a smile, that moment being enough to cover up thinking of an excuse. “I was just...” The brunette then turned around, beginning on the path to exit the room since the child in her arms had finally calmed down, but was still cold to the touch even through her tunic despite it having been a handful of minutes since he'd been saved from the water. “I was just trying to remember where I've heard your name before. You're... Knight Jinn's padawan, right?”  
  
He as taller and she knew this, but it didn't stop her from startling when the response he gave to her question was a surprising chuckle from beside her, rather than behind still.  
  
“Yes he is, though you're wrong by the title.”  
  
She knew her confusion but be clear on her face as she glanced up at the boy, for he added, “He may only be 38 years old, but he is already a Master.” A button was pressed by the boys hands and they continued on, Edie's eyebrows scrunched up in further confusion until shooting up in shock a moment later the boy added, “He had a padawan before me, and after seeing him to Knighthood, the Council rewarded my teacher with his Mastership as a Jedi.”  
  
There was another padawan? Her Master had another padawan-brother out in the galaxy somewhere.  
  
“Really? Wouldn't he have been too young to have taught you and another by now? What's the other one's name?” The girl asked quickly in rapid-succession, barely holding back a wince at how eager she sounded for information. One rule of negotiation was to _never_ show too much thirst for knowledge in something that should be a neutral topic even if it was one of interest.  
  
Thankfully, the boy did nothing more but arch an eyebrow. “In a usual circumstance, most likely, but he only taught his padawan for two years,” The duo had made quite a bit of distance already, and neither noticed the stairs that were lingering after them for two different reasons; interest at the unfamiliar face, and seeing a _very_ familiar and usually stuck-up being having a seemingly civil conversation with one other than Qui-Gon Jinn. “His name is Feemor Gard, and he was 18-years old when Master Jinn took him on to finish his training.”  
  
 _Why didn't I know about this? Why didn't Obi-Wan, Anakin, or Ahsoka ever tell me?_ The girl wondered as the duo of two trotting a totting-third to the Healing Halls fell into a casual silence. _...Did he do something bad? Did he Fall too? Did he die?_ The girl wondered and, unable to hold off for more than five minutes, she decided that some things she'd never know until she got home.  
  
Well, if she got home that was. _No, no! No thinking like that, brain! Be positive, not negative._ Despite her words being from her own-brain-to-itself it didn't have much effect, for the body didn't like listening without reason, so she decided to distract herself by asking more questions on this lineage-uncle she had formerly not known the existence of.  
  
“How old is he? Master Jinn's graduated padawan?”  
  
“Well he's ten-years older than myself, and thirteen-years younger than my Master. I don't exactly remember his birthday,” a look of disbelief must once more be clear on her face at such a declaration, a very firm expression of 'Really? _Really?_ ' for Xanatos blushed slightly. Clearing his throat, he continued, “But either way, knowing the exact date or not, he is either already 25-years old, or in the least will be rather soon.”  
  
“Why did Master Jinn take Knight Feemor on if he was already 18-years old? Didn't he have a Master before him?” She couldn't resist asking. It was odd to have such a well of information to the past... while in the past.  
  
“Now that, though not a happy fact, is one I know for certain.” He offer a dry yet genuine smirk, glancing down at her as they walked through the large, swishing doors that lead into the Healing Halls.  
  
Edie smiled a little back at the boy's growing openness, even if still barely existent, as the doors _swished_ back shut after their entrance. It was time to get a certain little Crecheling checked over.

 

_**~ [ P a j u s t j i ] ~** _

 

A chuckle was the first thing released as he heard doors _swish_ to an open, and Master Qui-Gon Jinn was hunched over in a stretch. He knew it was instantly by both bond and Force signature.  
  
“There you are, my wayward padawan. I've been hear nearly an hour, rather like the amount of time you claimed it would take _myself_ to get here,” His voice was full of a mixture of tease yet mild scolding, the man standing up, straightened his training clothing, “However, I can't lie how much it tickles me... that....”  
  


His words trailed off, steel-blue meeting grey-blue. There was a set of blinks from either of them, while each simply stared back at the other.  
  
“...Xanatos?”  
  
“Yes, Master?”  
  
“Why, in the name of the Force, do you look like a drowned womp-rat?”  
  
“Probably because I was in an aquatic-life pool with my clothing on, Master,” The boy walked further into a room, moving to sit on a bench before beginning stripping down to his under-tunics. “Water does make things wet on most planets in the galaxy.” Clothing now hung on the bench beside himself, Xanatos proceed to shed his boots and socks, both equally damp as the rest of him, since their sessions usually involved no shoes. “Though–” he sat there, running his fingers through his hair before standing and redoing it as he moved to a corner of the room “–there are the few planets that rain acidic water, and there is also that moon which holds carnivorous micro-organisms in its entire water supply.”  
  
The boy fell silent a few long moments, rummaging through the cabinet for a spare set of training robes that would fit him. The poor Master Jedi in the room, Qui-Gon, had been doing his best to keep track of all this babbling and silently searched for an answer in all of the rambling. He found none at all unfortunately, and he sent a small wave of thanks to the Force that his padawan had yet to notice the undoubtedly gobsmacked expression he must be wearing.  
  
Finally removing a set of training clothes in his size, he watched as Xanatos pulled them on over his semi-dry under-tunics before finally finishing his slight babbling with a simple, “I am very certain in those circumstances that water technically dries or violently burns, and in the other leave scarring or death by mauling.”  
  
The two were finally looking at each other once more.  
  
Another set of blinks was once more granted from each other.  
  
“Xanatos.” Qui-Gon's tone was firm, though most of it was due to confusion rather than discipline.

 

“Yes, Master?”  
  
“Why were you even _in_ one of the Temple's aquatic-life pools?” Not that the man was against the fun of youth—Mace Windu, his friend and lineage-uncle (the little kriff was only 18-years old and was held dear to the man's heart, but that boy just never let up on his 'position of authority' in their lineage unless Qui-Gon's former teacher was around, for Yoda just encourages the teasing) had said many a time that long-haired man acted very immature for his age and rank. Qui-Gon never denied it, for he enjoyed a good time and following the will of the Force. If the Force said have fun then, by the stars, he'd have it.  
  
However, he was still a Jedi. He was a jedi, and connected to the Living Force.  
  
He encouraged his padawan to enjoy himself, sure, but Xanatos could have hurt whatever creatures were assigned into that pool! Some of them have extremely delicate ecosystems that should not be disturbed unless by a sanitized, aquatic-raced Jedi handler.  
  
Xanatos sighed, arms crossing over his chest as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. There was a long, hanging silence before sound once more filled the room. A muttered, grumbling sound that was hard to understand even with their Master/Apprentice mental bond.  
  
“Can you repeat that, padawan?” Qui-Gon asked, eyebrows arched. His boy was not one for muttering in any circumstance, no matter how angry he was. It interested and concerned the man all in one go.  
  
Another sigh was his response, before Xanatos moved past the man and back to the bench to pick up his lightsaber from it's place next to his wet clothing. “I said, 'I got pranked by some Initiates'. Some younglings got one over on me, okay?”

 

Qui-Gon's eyebrows shot up even higher after the information was now given clearly.  
  
Xanatos took that as a prompting for more information. “I was on my way here, a boy stopped and asked me for some help in naming some species for an assignment in one of the aquatic rooms.” The boy bent over, beginning his stretches and Qui-Gon began to mimic his student in order to finish his own interrupted exercises.  
  
“When I got there we both bent over a pool, he pointed at what seemed a creature but I couldn't see it... and then a friend of his popped out and pushed me in.” The boy stood up straight, stretching his arms out now, “To be fair to them it _was_ partially an assignment for a class. They're practicing Force-stealth in their learning group. You didn't receive any calls, so I obviously let them live.” The boy looked irritated despite the apparent kudos he gave to the unnamed Initiates, but Qui-Gon was impressed with the boys maturity when one disregarded the last bit that was tacked on. The man couldn't resist chuckling at the teen's dead-pan.  
  
Qui-Gon stepped forward, clapping a hand onto the 15-year old's shoulder. “I see. If that is the case, the only answer is to exercise quite a bit to work the chill from your bones. And then, after I've turned you into exhausted mush, we shall go to that buffet I promised.... and perhaps to that dessert place with your favorite cakes after that.”  
  
Master and padawan shared a grin, and the training for the day would begin.  
  
Unknown to Qui-Gon, but the Force had done something rare in the past few minutes; it had helped a student successfully lie to their teacher.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! This is the last of the pre-written chapters. If all goes to plan the 4th chapter will be up as early as Friday, but hopefully no later than this upcoming Sunday night!


End file.
